Evidence of meeting #38 for Government Operations and Estimates in the 39th Parliament, 1st Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was passport.
A recording is available from Parliament.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
You know, I've been an MP for over 18 years now, and my office has been facilitating passports for as long as I've been there. You all know that. There have been waves of challenges, I will call them. Every year, at least two or three times a year--you can almost count on them--my staff go crazy because the timing is off and people are upset. We've gone through this so many times. Every year I've heard the story from the passport office, that they're going to streamline; it's going to be better; they're going to do things differently; now we have more security.
Do you know something? I'm starting to believe that it's almost as if you want those challenges every year. You talk about having to stick within your budget. My understanding is that you only get $62 allocated to Passport Canada for that $87?
4:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
That's correct.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
Okay.
Now you're talking about using Service Canada to facilitate passports, which is what we do at my office, which is fine. They're going to have to hire a whole bunch of people to do this, and this is outside your budget, of course. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to handle...and have a few more issuing offices so that you could serve these people rather than making them go through this fear?
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
I ask you that because when I see an ad in the newspaper from our local Service Canada office looking for 30 part-time people to man a desk.... I know they're not just going to do passports, but I know they're going to do a lot of passports, and you know they're going to do a lot of passports in my area. Wouldn't it make more sense for you to put more effort into solving the problem in that area? It still costs money-- whether it's from my office, through Service Canada, or from your budget, which may not be big enough. I don't know.
4:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
But there are two issues, Madame Chair.
If we are successful with the renewal program, hopefully we'll see a significant decrease in people applying at the counter.
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
You said that to me before, and people can't apply at the counter in my riding, so that doesn't change anything.
4:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
No, but the thing is that across the system hopefully the savings that we will accrue by a definition of service at other counters could be transferred elsewhere in the system.
The problem with local offices is that we have no means of knowing whether or not.... We know if this office makes money and another office doesn't. We have to find a way across the system to locate the offices where the highest volumes--
4:50 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
Is this about making money or is it about serving Canadians?
I'm asking this because it seems to me this is about making money. If it's about making money, we'll continue with the kinds of problems that we have.
4:50 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
It is about remaining at least within the financial parameters we have.
4:50 p.m.
Director General for Policy and Planning, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
Passport Canada is going to receive the revenue from 3.5 million passports, because that's approximately what we'll issue this year, perhaps 3.6 million. Whether we have one office, 30 offices, or 300 offices, we are going to receive the revenue from 3.5 million passports. What we do every year, and several times a year, is re-evaluate our service delivery network to determine that we can deliver the best service we can within the financial envelope that we have--and that envelope is 3.5 million passports times $62. That's what we have to spend. And what we have to balance is the walk-in office versus our mail-in component versus working with partners like Canada Post and Service Canada. That's the balance we're trying to achieve.
Frankly, we can't open an office in every community in Canada. We simply do not have the funds. What we're trying to do, though, is to get that balance to give the best service that we can to all Canadians. I've been at Passport Canada for many years now, there is no doubt that serving Canadians in remote areas is one of our biggest challenges, and we admit that. But it's not simply a question of opening an office. Opening an office is an extremely expensive proposition.
We were asked earlier about security in our offices. It isn't just four walls and a building. Those offices are highly secure, with walk-in vaults, security systems in place. It isn't just a regular building that you just happen to buy. The fit-up is extremely expensive. So opening an office isn't simply going to Public Works and saying give us 12,000 square feet.
That's our struggle, as well, to find the appropriate balance to service all Canadians.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
I thank you for that response.
I will tell you what I was told once, though. I was told that it wasn't opening it that was the problem, it was closing it. So I'm never sure what I'm going to hear. I was told that by somebody from Passport Canada, but I'm sure.... Because I've been in the business for so long, I've had a lot of stories told to me.
I thought you were finished, Mr. Albrecht.
4:55 p.m.
Conservative
Harold Albrecht Conservative Kitchener—Conestoga, ON
I was finished, but if I had known you were going to take up all my time--
4:55 p.m.
Some hon. members
Oh, oh.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
This is a very touchy topic in my area, because we've had so many challenges.
4:55 p.m.
Director General for Policy and Planning, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
Of course, and we agree.
4:55 p.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Diane Marleau
Are there any other questions that anybody wants to ask?
After Mr. Bonin wanted to ask you in, I wanted to be sure to ask a lot of questions.
Madame Thibault.
4:55 p.m.
Bloc
Louise Thibault Bloc Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
Would you be so good as to repeat the three difficulties that you described in your answer to my colleague? You mentioned, for example, access to provincial data because, if I understand correctly, the provinces and the 3 territories are 13 absolutely different entities. You cannot simply decide to exchange information.
What were the two others?
February 22nd, 2007 / 4:55 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
There is the legal issue, the legal framework. The second is the way in which—
4:55 p.m.
Bloc
Louise Thibault Bloc Rimouski-Neigette—Témiscouata—Les Basques, QC
When you say "the legal framework," what does that mean?
4:55 p.m.
Chief Executive Officer, Passport Office, Department of Foreign Affairs
It means that each of the provinces has legislation on access to private information.
4:55 p.m.
Bloc